Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-10-29

AAN law and went into
partnership with his brother, but soon quit
the practice for the ministry. His first
regular passionate was over the Congrega.
tional church in Terre Haute, Ind, where
he remained from 1860 to 1865, when he
was chosen secretary of the commission
for the education of the newly freed
negroes, and held that place till 1868
During part of these three years he also
served as pastor of the New England
church in New York city. Since then he
has given his time wholly to literature
publishing the "Results of Emancipation
in the United States" in 1867, ''Old Tes-
lament Shadows of New Testament
Truths" in 1870 and two volumes of
Beecher's sermons since. He also served
as editor of Tho Literary Record and
Harper's Magazine, bu5 soon left these to
form close personal friendship and liter
AIRY partnership with Henry Ward Beecher
He succeeded Plymouth's great preacher
as editor of The Christian Union, and
seemed to have become thoroughly imbued
with the Beecher spirit and theology. On
the Sunday after the latter's funeral Mr.
Abbott delivered in Plymouth church
eulogy of the dead, which attracted great
attention for its plain yet fervid language,
its tender references to his deceased
friend and pastor, and especially for its
clear and automatic statement of Mr.
Beecher's theology. No other man was
so well qualified to state Mr.. Beecher's
exact views, or to give history of his
progress from the rigid Puritan faith In
which he was reared to the milder doc
trines he preached in later years. As the
church accepts this as correct statement.
we may profitably quote the main sen
fences:
''Mr. Beecher taught higher and bet
ter religion of God and call myself his
pupil. Mr.. Beecher believed that
the revelation of God in the past was inn
perfect and that he was constantly re-
vealing himself to men. To him books
were instruments and the Bible only a
means TO an end--that end God. He
taught larger, broader, progressive reve-
lation, carried on to the end Of time
He believed in the awfulness Of
sin and in its adequate punishment, but
not In punishment without reason, the
only ground of which is retributive in
stinct. The future will not believe in It
either. He did not believe in an atoning
Saviour, appeasing the wrath Of an angry
God, but that Christ suffered for man as
the infinite Father"
Soon after Mr.. Beecher's death Ply
mouth appointed an advisory committee
to attend to the duty of securing temper
airy supply and looking to a permanent
pastorate; but experience soon showed
that each successive preacher invited 10
the pulpit was naturally looked upon by
the public as q candidate for the success
sion. Accordingly they recommended
that Dr. Lyman Abbott be engaged rs
pulpit supply till q permanent pastor
could be obtained; he accepted on the ex-
press condition that he was not TO be con-
sidered for permanent pastor, and at the
prayer meeting on the evening Of Oct. II
the arrangement was completed.
Rev. George A. Gordon, pastor Of the
Old South Congregational Church socie-
ty, who has been spoken Of as possible
successor to Mr.. Beecher, was born In
Aberdeen. Scotland and il "a years Of